Do you have what it takes to take a Pickle Jar strategy and transform education marketing?

It’s rare to see us blog about job opportunities in the education sector but this one is particularly special. Newcastle University are currently recruiting for two brand new roles and I wanted to take a little time to tell you about them:

Why am I sharing this with you? Well, for the past 18 months we have been working closely with Newcastle University to evolve their use of social media for recruitment marketing and communications from pretty much a standing start. In Spring 2012 they were behind their key competitors who were beginning to soar away with their use of social media. In the space of a year we have grown their Facebook community alone from around 400 very inactive fans to a vibrant and active community of over 23,500 people without using any silly competitions or gimmicks to grow it. We have worked hard to prove the case for support for social media at the University, working to persuade many many people in the University of its value and impact. We have had incredible success. But what you see now is barely the beginning. Alongside this we have been busy developing a strategy to set Newcastle University on track to become a leader in digital and social media communications. And while we have been supporting them to make those initial steps, we believe that the strategy will only fully begin to flourish with internal, dedicated support to lead it and take it on to the next level. This means ensuring that social media is no longer an add-on or an afterthought, but instead an integrated activity and an integrated part of the marketing team. And, yes, it means talking ourselves out of ongoing work… but we always believe in recommending what is best for our clients.

So, we recommended the appointment of dedicated roles to lead this work in-house, taking on what we have started and really championing best practice in digital and social media marketing in higher education.

With the close relationship that we have developed with the University in this time, we can offer assurances that the successful candidates will work for a warm, welcoming and exciting university. Part of the Russell Group, a research-intensive university and with a vibrant student community in one of the most attractive parts of the UK, Newcastle University is a great place to be.

And yes, it might mean relocating to the North East, but why on earth wouldn’t you? I moved to the North East myself a little under two years ago and chose this as the place to grow Pickle Jar Communications. Within less than a month of being here it felt like home in a way that no other place has done for me in the past 15 years. We have this:

The Geordie friendliness and charm that I can assure you is not a myth

A beautiful city home to fantastic night life, bars, restaurants and oodles of culture

The bridges… oh yes the bridges (love them)

THE most stunning coastline in the UK about 15 minutes drive from the city centre (I took a stroll on the beach at Tynemouth just a week ago – sitting on the beach eating the freshest fish and chips, watching a pod of dolphins play in the bay – I kid you not, I have video evidence to prove it)

Fantastic transport, with very frequent direct trains taking around 3 hours to get to London, 1.5 hours to Edinburgh, and an airport with flights taking less than an hour to Heathrow

Very low cost of living compared to other parts of the UK meaning that you can actually afford to enjoy everything we have to offer

A thriving and exciting higher education community meaning that you’re in close proximity to many other great universities as and when you decide to progress your career more in higher ed marketing (because, let’s face it, after implementing our strategy for Newcastle University EVERYBODY is going to want you to work for them too).

And above all you’ll have my team and I just 5 minutes up the road from you and always on call for coffees and lunches! 🙂

Tempted? Good. That’s your weekend sorted then with filling in your application and wowing us all. Deadline for both posts is on 6th August. I wish you the very best of luck.